As a math writer (math entrepreneur?) I talk to a lot of people about math and I'm often shocked by the reactions I encounter. Introducing math into a conversat

As a math writer (math entrepreneur?) I talk to a lot of people about math and I'm often shocked by the reactions I encounter. Introducing math into a conversation has a consistent effect of making 30-40% of people very uncomfortable, and they usually try to quickly change the subject. I was perplexed by this, until I realized what is going on. Many people are convinced of the implication: person is smart --> person is good at math So if you're not good at math (e.g. bad grades in high school), the rules of logic (specifically modus tollens) implies that you're not smart! Since nobody wants to feel unsmart, or recall painful math experiences from their schooling, they avoid the subject as much as possible. In the light of this, the first few chapters of my book[1] serve to help readers get over their math fears. Honestly, I feel I need to learn about psychology to help people with their math phobia... Once you get rid of fear, math can become an amazing source of knowledge buzz. [1] http://minireference.com/ http://minireference.com/